Survival Tips: Register with the Power Company If You Need Electricity for Medical Reasons

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For most people, when the electricity goes out, it’s more of an annoyance than anything else. It just means daily conveniences get interrupted. But for others, the concern is much much more serious because of a medical condition they or someone in the family has.

Importance of Getting on the List

Most power companies have a record of the addresses for people who have to medically rely on power. But this list isn’t something that’s automatically generated. You have to contact your power company to get put on this record.

Then when the power goes out due to rolling blackouts, those who are on this record will often get first priority for having their electricity stay on – or if it’s a crash, then getting their issue resolved.

Whenever there’s a power outage, workers will be directed to the area where you live.

Who Can Get On This List

But not just anyone can get on this record. Each electric company has a set of standards they use to determine who gets priority in restoring electricity.

Usually, first on the list are those who need power for critical care. These are people who much rely on machines in order to remain alive. If someone relies on a kidney dialysis machine at home, this is considered critical care according to electric companies.

People who are on oxygen machines or ventilators also qualify to go on the list to restore power first. Those who have a feeding pump and must have electricity to operate it also qualify for quicker power restoration.

CPAP machines are on the list but, there are some power companies that limit electric restoration for those using CPAP machines to infants and children since many of these machines do have a battery backup. However, there can be a time limit to how long battery power can last, so it would still be worthwhile to get on the list if your electric company allows it.

There are other reasons besides critical care that electric companies use to determine who gets power restored first.

Anyone whose health is negatively affected by loss of heat or loss of air conditioning because it can make their medical condition worse can also qualify to go on an electric company’s priority power restore list.

Prevention of Misuse of the List

You can’t just reach out to your electric company and tell them that you need to go on the list, because unfortunately, there are some people who would take advantage of this who don’t really need the help.

So most electric companies do require proof of medical need. You would have to get the required forms from your power company and then take them to your health care provider.

These forms can vary, depending on what your company requires, but usually, on the form, there will be a part for the doctor to fill out about medically essential electric powered device or adverse health reaction due to heat or cold from loss of power.

My Experience

I am very familiar with this. In my county, you have to contact the county for electricity and for emergency care. They want to know if they need to come help if there was an evacuation situation. My mother-in-law lived with us for almost a year, and she was on oxygen and had an amputation. Our county knew that we might need help if the power went out or if there was a reason to evacuate.

As noted above, patients on kidney dialysis often need to keep their electricity on or their dialysis machines won’t work. I was on dialysis during Hurricane Harvey. We lost power for a short while but during the majority of that epic rainstorm, our power was on. Fortunately.

So, it is important to contact the power company and let them know about your situation. It may save your life.